Chairperson, hon Minister, hon Deputy Minister, the chief executive officer and contingent, chairperson of the committee, hon Members of Parliament, captains of industry, special and distinguished guests, my fellow countrymen and women, the honour has been bestowed upon me to brief all present here today and those who are watching from their homes, offices and in different viewing centres countrywide and to give an overview of the Budget Vote and Brand SA under Budget Vote 1, which we will be voting on today.
My address to this House will give a synopsis of the GCIS and the strides taken to ensure the effective and efficient communication of government's work to the South African public.
On 18 May 1998, during the Communications Budget Vote, the GCIS was born. It will be exactly 14 years old in eight days from today. The GCIS was established in terms of section 239 of the Constitution and as a strategic unit in the Presidency in terms of section 7 of the Public Service Act of 1994. In line with the GCIS mandate, I say that this government is communicating with its people as a democratic nation in which the voice of our people should be heard. As South Africans, this is what we strive for, and as Pixley ka Isaka Seme said:
There is today, among all races and men, a general desire for progress and co-operation, because co-operation will facilitate and secure progress.
One cannot separate the words "co-operation" and "communication" because to receive the purest sense of either, they must be working together.
Most of us are aware ...
... nangona ulutsha lwethu lumane ludinga ukukhunjuzwa. [... whereas our youth need to be always reminded.] Pre-1994, government had created a culture of secrecy by restricting media from exposing corruption and mismanagement, which often led to the wrong information being disclosed to the public. The promulgation of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa ensured that this principle was enforced by sections 16(1) and 16(2).
In his state of the nation address, the President announced the need to deal decisively with the triple challenge of unemployment, poverty and inequality. The GCIS proudly does its part in redressing these issues through initiatives like the National Communication Strategy Framework, engagement with the media, training government communicators, the Vukuzenzele newspaper and the Thusong Service Centres. These humble services serve civil society and government in the war on social ills and, yes, Mr President, South Africa is equal to the task at hand.
Big strides have been taken by this government department since its introduction into government. More and more citizens of South Africa are now exposed to government services because of the work done by the GCIS. The Vukuzenzele newspaper is published in Braille, in audio, in English and in other official South African languages. There are Thusong Service Centres in the most remote areas, ensuring that citizens have access to social security amenities.
Lufikile uphuhliso ebantwini, iinkonzo ziza kubo emakhaya. [People are enjoying development; services are delivered directly to them.]
To ensure quality service delivery and productivity in its field, the GCIS adheres to strict guidelines in its code of conduct. This was put to the test in the recent oversight visits undertaken by the committee in 2011 and 2012.
With regard to service delivery nationwide, the committee furthermore endeavours to finalise the nationwide oversight by visiting Gauteng and North West province during this parliamentary term.
The mandate of the GCIS is to provide strategic leadership in government communications and co-ordinate a government-wide communications system that ensures the public is continuously informed of government programmes and policies in a manner that will improve their lives.
The GCIS requires the full functioning and running of four programmes, namely Administration, Communication and Content Management, Government and Stakeholder Engagement, and the Communication Service Agency. The sum total of their budget is R429 million.
The ANC supports the Budget Vote. The DEPUTY MINISTER IN THE PRESIDENCY - PERFORMANCE MONITORING AND EVALUATION AS WELL AS ADMINISTRATION: Thank you, Chairperson. That is a very long title. It feels as if I'm delivering my maiden speech in this Parliament of the people because this is my first Budget Vote as the Deputy Minister for Performance Monitoring and Evaluation as well as Administration in the Presidency. However, I am not. This is not the first time.
Chairperson, last week on 2 May 2012, the world celebrated World Press Freedom Day. This arose from a declaration that was adopted by the Southern African Development Community in Namibia in 1991, calling for the observation and celebration of World Press Freedom Day. Experts, commentators, analysts, governments and civil society in general will pause and reflect on the freedom of the press.
I know that in South Africa, the current debate on the Protection of Information Bill has raised the alarm in that we, as government, may intend stifling the media and curtailing its freedom.
In the struggle we fought for freedom of the press, and as government we remain committed to that freedom. How can we then today muzzle the media? The arguments and the debate should be on matters of self-regulation and independent regulation, and on protection of state information against peddlers, as is the case today. The world is changing; we have to adapt and change.
Democracy and freedom do have rules and have to be governed. The rights we enjoy today have limitations, as dictated by the Constitution. I look around me and I can say with pride that South Africa remains one of those countries in which journalists and the media enjoy all the basic rights to perform their professional duties without fear or prejudice under the ANC government. [Applause.]
As for the matters in the Protection of Information Bill, I am confident that, as South Africans, we will find solutions through our robust and vibrant debates, as we always do. We will definitely find each other one day.
On the matter of the media tribunal versus self-regulation or independent regulation, the debate still goes on. While acknowledging the good work done by the panel on the Press Freedom Commission, we nonetheless should expand the matter through parliamentary processes to include ordinary people who could not submit their views to that particular commission. When the media reports about them, they also are affected and their voice must be heard through the parliamentary processes.
When considering Budget Vote No 9 of 2012-2013, for the GCIS, we should ensure that this matter is engaged and debated. The MDDA, which gets its budget from this Vote, has that particular mandate. The agency must report on progress made and, arising from that, it must initiate a process with the relevant portfolio committee to ensure that we are able to engage one another on the matter.
Chairperson, the hon Minister has already outlined in detail programmes to be undertaken by the GCIS in this financial year. These details build in our minds a picture of an energetic, co-ordinated programme of communication across the three spheres of government.
The content of government's communication is concentrated on our five key government priorities of fighting crime, health care, economic growth and employment, education and rural development, with an added focus on our infrastructure development programme.
The government infrastructure programme is a venture that calls for continual engagement with partners who will help with the construction of major projects such as bridges, dams, railways, electricity and roads, which President Jacob Zuma called for in the state of the nation address three months ago.
The programme is a venture that will create interest among the millions of South Africans who are keen to take up the vast number of job opportunities that will result from the development of public infrastructure over the coming years. This is also a venture that will stimulate international interest and, ultimately, confidence in South Africa as a site of development that is becoming increasingly attractive to international investors and trade partners. This has to be continually communicated to international investors and thus fulfils the mandate of the GCIS of being "the pulse of communication excellence in government".
Communication engagement within government and between government, citizens and shareholder groups is another imperative driven by the GCIS. In this regard, the GCIS practises development communication by using mediated and unmediated forms of communication and building sound stakeholder relations within government and with external stakeholders.
The GCIS provides strategic leadership in the interplay between national government communication and that of provinces, in particular the communication components of premiers' offices. This is done by presenting the national communication strategy to provincial and local structures for alignment for there to be a seamless dissemination of government information countrywide.
The GCIS followed on the Local Government Turnaround Strategy in terms of municipalities in order to provide support with communication strategies and communication action plans and the establishment of stakeholder forums and newsletters. The GCIS co-ordinates programmes for public participation outreach events of political principals at national, provincial and local levels to reinforce dialogue and accountability to the citizens. The GCIS also supports the implementation of access to government information and services through Thusong Service Centres. Currently, there are 170 centres in the country. They take services deep into the rural areas, and they reached five million people last year. To maximise information and service provision, the GCIS works with departments like the Department of Home Affairs, the Department of Labour, the SA Social Security Agency and other bodies to integrate and align their mobile service units.
I was in Vhembe a few weeks ago. If the people of Vhembe were sitting in the gallery today, listening to the hon Shinn, they would be disappointed because information access is a crucial and critical element in the far- flung rural areas and the furthest, remotest areas in our country. Unfortunately, our people are locked up there without access to information.
The telecommunications instruments are not yet accessible to all of them. You have said that too much money is spent on salaries, and I am responding to that particular issue. Yes, it is not yet viable for the instruments and infrastructure on the ground to reach all the people. That is why there is a bulge in salaries. We will heed that caution so that we don't continually increase salaries, but rather work on the improvement of infrastructure now so that access can be an easy element that will reduce the cost of salaries. We can achieve that.
The GCIS programme for the year ahead also acknowledges the usefulness and impact of social networks and the potential this holds for direct, two-way interaction between government and citizens. We are investigating that possibility, particularly in terms of the mobile phone technology as it seems to be within the reach of most people.
While three million South Africans enjoy access to the Internet, 47 million still do not have access to the Internet. Of the three million people enjoying access to the Internet, most of those interviewed indicated that they accessed it at work because they did not have it in their homes. Therefore, the element of access to communication is still far from being achieved. Thus the GCIS is there to play that particular critical role.
Since its establishment, the agency has made significant achievements in its infant stage. With a limited budget of just R200 million accumulating since 2004, the MDDA, which I'm speaking about, has supported more than 413 media projects throughout the length and breadth of South Africa in all the nine provinces, focusing on historically disadvantaged communities using indigenous languages.
Accumulatively, since its inception and as at 31 March 2012, the agency has trained over 1 304 people. It has provided 247 bursaries to different radio stations and print media. It has created approximately 310 direct and indirect job opportunities and empowered many people with skills that enable them to participate in the broader media and broadcasting industry.
The agency will continually focus on ensuring that all citizens can access information in a language of their choice and contribute to the transformation of media access, ownership and control patterns in South Africa. All South Africans need to support that particular agenda.
The major challenges that are faced by the MDDA include: limited funding, which we need to continually look at; declining funding for print media; the regulatory framework that governs the MDDA in terms of the regulations, which requires tax certificates and audited financials from groups that are in their formative stages; the disempowering environment in print media; the lack of skills amongst the socioeconomic groups that are targeted by the MDDA; the limited broadcasting frequency spectrum; and limited exposure of small commercial and community media to advertising revenues and marketing skills.
In this coming financial year, the MDDA is planning to support at least one community radio station per community, one community media and magazine, one commercial newspaper and magazine at each district municipality and at least one community television station in each province. We hope that the committee will support all the programmes that might be presented to it for consideration of its budget. The MDDA will conduct a study on the social impact on the community and small commercial media. The agency also plans to conduct more interventions in respect of the promotion of media literacy and the culture of reading in the rest of the other provinces. However, the challenge remains in terms of transformation.
Let me take this opportunity to thank the funding partners of the MDDA, who committed to supporting government in the implementation of the objectives of the Media Development and Diversity Agency Act. These include: the SABC, e.tv, Primedia, Kagiso Media, Jacaranda FM and East Coast Radio, Africa Media Entertainment, Algoa FM and OFM, M-Net, MultiChoice, Kaya FM, Capricorn FM, Y-FM, Igagasi FM, Heart 104,9 FM, Radio Pulpit and Avusa, Naspers, Caxton and Independent Newspapers Pty Ltd. We urge them to continue with their support for the noble cause of media diversity and plurality of voices and opinions. Together, we will increase the funding of the MDDA.
However, the challenges that the MDDA must really focus on include the following: media diversity, which is its mandate; ownership and control, issues on which we must engage as a portfolio committee; the elimination of gender discrimination in the media; the promotion of gender equality; the promotion of all languages with particular reference to indigenous languages; the promotion of access to information for all; improvement in respect of content for children; the working conditions and challenges of media workers; and employment equity, etc.
Chairperson, we will also have to include the following tasks: media accountability mechanisms that complement and strengthen self-regulation with independent regulation; enhancing media credibility and accountability; discouraging irresponsible reporting; promoting high standards in the media; encouraging professionalism; and strengthening our democracy. That is the role of the media as far as that particular objective is concerned.
As the Minister said, Brand SA has been moved to the new Vote in the Presidency. We urge that, as it moves there, it be given well-deserved attention in that particular area. However, the Minister has already referred to its work in the past financial year.
During the December holiday - and I did engage the board on this - I saw an advert on TV that prided itself on our achievements as a country during the 2010 World Cup. It went like this: "They thought we would not make it but we did," and the ad showed our stadia, the roads, the police, the army and happy children playing in good parks, etc. I was looking forward to seeing Brand SA coming up as the supporter of the advert, but it was Coca-Cola. We hope that Brand SA will market itself properly at the domestic level to promote our achievements, our successes, our flag, our people, our cultures, our landscape and our national anthem. In conclusion, I wish to thank Minister Chabane for his leadership and guidance, and the CEO of the GCIS, Mr Jimmy Manyi, as well as the management and staff for their dedication, energy and output.
I also want to thank the MDDA board, under the leadership of Ms Gugu Msibi; the CEO of the MDDA, Mr Lumko Mtimde; Brand SA, as it moves to another Budget Vote; its trustees, under the new chairperson, Ms Chichi Maponya; and the CEO, Miller Matola. I wish them well in their new home.
Finally, let me thank the chief of staff in my office, Ms Bonakele Dlamini; my content advisor, Ms Nomvula Mngomezulu; my private secretary, Unathi Sityata; and all the staff members in my office. I really thank you very much for your support.
We have a great story to tell. We are telling it well and must continue to tell it through the GCIS theme: "The Pulse of Communication Excellence in Government". Thanks to all of you. [Applause.]